Prodi's 2006-2008 govt fell after losing support in Upper House

(ANSA) - Naples, February 11 - A trial into allegations
ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi bribed former Senator Sergio De
Gregorio to change political sides started in Naples on Tuesday.

Valter Lavitola, an associate of the ex-premier's, is also
on trial for allegedly acting as a go-between.

Prosecutors have claimed Lavitola also tried to bribe other
Senators who have not been identified.

Berlusconi is accused of paying De Gregorio a bribe of
three million euros to leave the centre left and join the centre
right, helping to undermine the 2006-2008 government of Romano
Prodi.

De Gregorio has admitted not declaring to the tax
authorities two millions euros he received and plea-bargained a
20-month sentence.

De Gregorio has not gone to jail because sentences
under two years are automatically suspended.

Prodi's 2006-2008 government fell after losing the
support of the Senate, leading to new elections that Berlusconi
won.

Senate Speaker Piero Grasso announced last week that the
Upper House would request to be made a civil plaintiff in a
trial, prompting howls of protest from Berlusconi's Forza Italia
party.

The case is only one of a series of legal woes for
billionaire tycoon Berlusconi, the charismatic centre-right
leader who was ejected from the Senate and last year after a
definitive conviciton for tax fraud at his media group, his
first binding conviction in 20 years of judicial battles.

The three-time premier is appealing two convictions by
courts of first instance: one for paying for sex with an
underage prostitute and abusing his office as premier to try to
cover it up; and another for involvement in the publication of
an illegal wiretap.

The Forza Italia leader says he has been targeted by
politically motivated magistrates since he entered politics in
1994.